Mushroom Mall Madness
by Code1295
Summary: It was three days 'till Christmas, and I'll tell you the tale of a hectic day out, at the big Christmas sale. Join the Mario characters in their last minute shopping with each chapter told from a different P.O.V.!
1. Luigi

Quick Note: Spacing is still weird and part added in Bakery scene.

* * *

><p><em>It was three days till Christmas, and no one was around.<em>

_Not a creature was stirring, and not a toad could be found._

_Where were they you ask? I'll tell you the tale, _

_Of a hectic day out, at the big Christmas sale._

_Our story begins, with the man dressed in green._

_The one who never wanted to be shy, rude, or mean._

_With all his shopping done, he had gifts for every other,_

_But how could he have forgotten, a gift for his own brother?_

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear, oh dear!" said Luigi as he walked, or rather was pushed into the large food court in front of him. Dozens of citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were all trying to get through the doors, past the food court, and to the many shops of Mushroom Mall, the finest mall in the entire kingdom. At least that is what the advertisement says. Luigi, as you already know, was being shoved along by the massive crowd, but that was not what he was worrying about.

"Oh dear, what have I done?" Luigi groaned to himself, "I went down that stupid list about a thousand times: Daisy, Peach, Toad, Gadd, Toadsworth, and heck, I even got my mailman a present, so how could I have forgotten my own brother; my own brother! How could I have forgotten Mario? Most of the year, that's not even possible with his name in every other news line!"

Luigi sighed while looking at his surroundings, "Now I have to survive the crowds and find a super, awesome present for my bro by the end of the day."

He looked into the nearest clothing store and saw a toad and a koopa wrestling on the floor for a pair of high heels, "Maybe I'll start upstairs."

Walking up the steps to the second floor of the Mushroom Mall, Luigi smelled something very warm and fresh.

"Tayce T. Bakery," he read aloud, "well, Mario does have a sweet tooth."

Once inside, the man in green was wholeheartedly greeted by the owner, "Hello dearie! Congratulations on being my first costumer of the day!" The owner was an older female toad who was known for her exquisite cooking.

"You're kidding right?" Luigi said, "The entire mall is packed with sale-crazy shoppers! Surely you've had plenty of business?"

Tayce T. leaned forward behind her counter, "Oh, of course I've had many orders through phone, but until they all come to pick up their treats later in the day, no one bothers coming in during the morning hours."

"Oh, well. I'm just going to look around for a moment."

In truth, he became tempted to give up his hunt and spend all day keeping this lady company, but he just couldn't today. He was determined to find a gift for his brother. So, the man in green simply wandered the shop for a few minutes, looking at pies and pastries on display, all while trying to ignore the bored-looking cook behind the counter. It was becoming harder to stay focused while looking at a particular slice of cake he'd found; it was chocolate and looked so moist. He had rushed out the house this morning, causing him to miss breakfast, but before he could become completely infatuated with the baked good, he realized he should get back to the task at hand.

Breaking his gaze, he looked over at Tayce T. and said, "While this all looks very good, I'm afraid I must be going now ma'am."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't buy anything."

"Well, don't be sorry. Besides, I'll still be making money while you're out there spending it." Tayce T. grinned.

Luigi grinned back and waved as he left. He almost made it outside when he bumped into and invisible force.

"Wha…?" he said.

"Hello Mister." Said a voice below him, "You just walked into me."

He looked down to see a small toad girl. She had red dots on her head and long brown hair. She carried with her an equally brown teddy bear.

"Oh, did I?" said Luigi, "I'm very sorry about that."

"It's okay. Can I have some candy?"

Luigi wanted to end the conversation fast, "I'm sorry. I don't have any candy at the moment. I really must be going now."

She held the teddy bear to her ear as if it spoke to her, "Teddy thinks you're lying. Lying is bad."

"Huh? I'm not lying. If I had candy, I would give you some, but I don't." he said honestly.

"Okay, then. Goodbye." She waved to him but then didn't move an inch.

They had a awkward moment of staring before Luigi said, "Okay… Goodbye…"

Another brief moment later, neither side had moved. Then Luigi decided to just back away slowly and turn to leave. He inwardly sighed.

Little did he know, as he turned away the little girl grabbed something from his pockets. It was a shiny, blue, blinking ball of some sort. She looked at it with disinterest.

"You're not a wallet." She said as she threw it on the ground.

* * *

><p>"Let's try Fredericks"<p>

Fredericks was a clothing store that packed all the latest styles for the latest seasons. Luigi knew that the coldest months were coming so he thought he would buy Mario something warm. He began looking through coats of many sizes and, due to his stress level being quite high, it was proving difficult to find something just right.

"Too small, too large, too heavy, too thin, too blue and this one is too fuzzy." Luigi sighed and took a deep breath, "This search is way too hard."

So Luigi spent the next half hour looking and re-looking over the pile of coats, scarves, gloves, boots, and earmuffs. Many of them Mario didn't even need, and none of them seemed like the perfect thing to buy. So the plumber gave up and attempted to walk out the store, but he couldn't because of the long line to the store's cash register that blocked the exit.

"He-hey, excuse me," Luigi tried to move through but to no prevail, "I'm trying to get through here."

A large pianta grunted and knocked him back a few feet. Luigi's temper grew, but before he could do anything, a loud bang was from outside Fredericks.

The people in line all became frightened and jumped back. A koopa lady threw her hands in the air, hitting Luigi the face. He stumbled backwards and fell back into a pile of coats on the floor.

"Ow, my nose! What was that? It sounded like an explosion!" As he sat up, Luigi saw the perfect thing to buy.

In front of him, in a bin full of gloves, was a pair that was a bright red, had a large white circle and a red "M" in the middle.

"I need those!" He dashed towards them and just as his hand went to reach them, another hand ran into his.

The owner of the other hand started to yell, "Ow! Hey what's your prob...?"

Luigi looked up to see a familiar face. It was Toadette.

"Luigi? What are you doing here?"

"Please, Toadette! I need those gloves!" he begged.

She grabbed the gloves, "What? No way! I saw them first and besides, I adore Mario! You don't even _like_ him most days!"

"What? That's not true! I'm trying to buy those _for_ Mario!"

"Oh."

"Yes, so please let me have them?"

"Hmmmmm, no."

"Whaaat? You just said you 'adored' my brother!" Luigi yelled.

"I do, but think about how cool I'll look walking into the castle at the big party! Everyone will have their lame old, regular gloves, and I'll be rocking my new Mario brand pair in front of all of them! It will be amazing!" she fantasied.

Luigi looked confused, "Her logic makes no sense! I-I, I don't what to say to convince her. Oh no, my minds blanking! I don't know what to do! I don't know what to say! Ahhhh! I'm not going to find anything for my brother ever and he'll hate me forever! What should I do now? What can I do now?"

Coming back to reality, Toadette focused on Luigi, who seemed to be spacing out and looked like he was about to cry.

"Well geez, don't cry about it. Mario's a cool guy and he'll understand if you don't get him something great, like these gloves," she mumbled that last part under her breath, "Just, go somewhere else and find something better.

Luigi collected himself after hearing Toadette, "Um, okay, I guess you're right…"

* * *

><p>But by that point, Toadette had already joyfully skipped off to buy her gloves.<p>

"Gotta keep your cool," Luigi said taking a deep breath. He started walking around the now smaller checkout line.

"I haven't seen Mario pick up a book very often, but he has gotten really interested in a few before. Maybe I can find just the right one in here," said Luigi while walking into "Shelves".

Luigi loved reading when he was home alone and knew this bookshop fairly well. He always enjoyed mystery and fantasy books but knew Mario needed a nice action book that would keep his attention. _As long as he reads it before he decides he doesn't like it,_ Luigi thought, _this would be a very good gift for him._ _I just need something new, and exciting! Something shiny would be nice._

About ten minutes had passed and Luigi was still looking high and low and reading through several back covers Luigi when he finally found one; one that he would love to read, but sadly not the one for Mario. Even in a humble store like this he found himself having to push his way through crowds of people. It was coming to the point where he'd swear that he kept seeing the same people everywhere he went. It was almost as if he knew some of these people, like that girl in the orange shirt way over there. He'd only gotten a glimpse of her face but he was sure that he knew her.

"Is that...?" he asked as he got closer.

Just as he did so, the mysterious girl ducked down on the floor. Luigi was confused so he pushed past more people to reach her. After moving past the last person, he found the girl in an orange shirt scampering across the floor.

"Daisy?" The lady in question froze.

"Oh, hey there Weegee. I didn't see you there," she said standing up, "Whatcha, uh, doing here?"

To this Luigi tensed but tried to stay calm and collected.

"Nothing, just looking," he said slowly, "Daisy, are you okay? You don't look so good."

It was true; the floral princess was now sweating and looked faint, "What? Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay? It's not like I forgot to buy something super important and now I'm here to buy it last minute, or something. Or something! That would make me an awful person, but I'm not, and I didn't, so I'm perfectly fine!"

Luigi looked mortified once Daisy was done ranting. Luigi thought he knew exactly what was happening. Somehow Daisy had found out that Luigi forgotten Mario's gift and was using sarcasm to show her anger. She was getting all upset over something he did and now more than ever was he regretting it. He wanted to tell her how sorry he was and that he wanted to still make his brother happy somehow, but words would not form.

He stared at the ground, "I-I-I..."

For the second time today, he felt like crying. He should have just bought the stupid cake.

"Oh my god!" said Daisy suddenly as she embraced him in a hug, "I'm so sorry Luigi! Look, its okay. I'm going to make this right, I promise! Please don't be mad at me!"

As she continued to speak, Luigi's sad face was replaced with another confused one.

"But..." he began to say before being thrown back into another hug.

"No! No excuses! It's all going to be alright when I'm done," she backed off and looked into his eyes, "Just let me do what has to be done!"

She gave him a warm smile and ran off, leaving the plumber behind along with many questions forming in his head.

* * *

><p>By now, it was midday and Luigi had managed to have not spent a single coin. Walking around, seemingly in circles, he decided it was time for a short break to clear his head. His initial plan was to go buy a snack from the nice lady at the bakery, but when he passed her shop on the second floor, she was now just as busy as she before claimed she would be. Luigi needed to go somewhere more secluded. Every staircase, hallway, and elevator was filled with shoppers, except for one. He chose that one.<p>

"Only floor two and floor three?" he asked, "I didn't know this mall even had a third floor!"

He pushed the button and the doors closed, "Seems inconvenient to me."

The doors opened again and Luigi instantly relaxed. Outside was just a room-sized store with a calm red color scheme and the smell of fresh coffee filling the air. There were others here enjoying the moment, but no one rushed around like they did downstairs. In a trance, he followed his nose to the counter and was greeted by a man in a mug shaped hat, sat down, and ordered some coffee.

"This is much better," Luigi thought.

"Hey bro," said a familiar voice beside him.

Luigi nearly fell out of his chair.

"M-Mario?" he stammered, "Wha-What are you doing here?"

"We were out of toilet paper," he said up front.

He seemed beaten down and restless, even more so than Luigi.

"Oh." said Luigi.

"And bread." added Mario.

"Oh."

"Today bro, I have seen some stuff," he said gulping down some coffee, "Stuff I really wish I could un-see."

The man with the mug hat came back to give the younger brother his coffee.

He calmed a little, "Yeah, today's been crazy for me too."

"No kidding? What have you been up to? You're not here for the toilet paper too are you? 'Cause that would be the worst thing to hear today if you had already bought some."

"Maybe not the worst thing." Luigi said under his breath but Mario heard him.

"What do you mean?"

Luigi almost choked, "Uh, well, you know, like... Okay what if, I was supposed to buy the toilet paper, and the bread! But I didn't."

"Okay...?"

"Yeah! And then, say I went to buy said toilet paper, but now you're all angry because you didn't have any for today."

"Sure. So, what's your point?"

"Yes my point is, now that I've made you wait, how great does the toilet paper have to be for you to still really like it?" He practically shouted the last part and was now in his brother's face.

Mario backed away, "So you didn't buy any toilet paper?"

Luigi sighed, "No, but I'm really trying here."

Mario looked angry, "I spent all day trying to get..."

Luigi interrupted, "Mario stop. It was a metaphor."

"Oh... You shouldn't lie you know."

Luigi's head hit the counter as the eldest continued, "You know, I don't even care anymore Weege. All I want for Christmas is that dang roll of toilet paper. I'd be happy with any roll at all by this point. Anything at all, just as long as I get that warm feeling when it's given to me, all wrapped up and new. That's all I want."

"Well that's a relief." Luigi muttered with his head still down, but suddenly he looked up, "Wait, wait that's it! I know what to buy now!"

"Toilet paper?"

"What? No, not that! Anyway you were supposed to buy that like a week ago. I've got to go now. Thanks bro!"

"Okay, your welcome, I guess."

With that, Luigi rushed off with newfound excitement.

* * *

><p>Luigi rushed off to the store he needed, an electronics store he knew that sold just what he was thinking of. To sum it up in a single sentence, he found, bought it, and then smiled uncontrollably as he completed his mission. That is, until he noticed something on his way out.<p>

"Gadd?" he asked to a friend he had found.

The small man stood in his lab coat near a destroyed booth of some sort. A table was black with ash and he seemed to be mourning over pieces of machinery that lay on the ground.

"Gadd, what happened here?"

The professor managed to fake a smile at the plumber, "Nothing much my boy. My experiments only exploded is all. All except my RoboHound here."

A small miniature robot dog came out from behind him and whimpered to Luigi, "Oh, I'm sorry Elvin. How did this happen?"

"A girl came, pressed a button, and Boom! Now some of my greatest stuff is gone, not that anyone was buying anyway though."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Naw, I'll be fine. How 'bout a nice lunch though?"

"Sure I can do that, but let's just get out of this mall first."

So the plumber, the dog, and the professor walked away. They now were on the escalator to the food court when RoboHound's ears perked up. Out of nowhere RoboHound barked widely and darted up the escalator.

"Hey!" yelled Gadd after him.

All at once, RoboHound leapt into someone at the top of the escalator just as a flash of bright light blinded everyone in the area.

"Ahhhhhhhh!" screamed an old male voice.

Just then a mountain of cookies and an old toad flew down the escalator and plowed over the two, sending them falling down the stairs.

_As Luigi blacked out, for a moment or two_

_I'll tell you the tale, of someone new._

_For the rest to make sense, I need to tell you,_

_How this day played out, from another point of view._

* * *

><p>That's the first chapter of six. Each, except for the last, is to be told from the point of view of each character. Some you have already met. Some(none), may remember this story from last year. Well, for this year, it is not only already written, but will be up in time for Christmas! At least, most of it. Also, the spacing turned out al weird when I uploaded, so I tried to fix that the best I could. Happy Holidays!<p> 


	2. Toadsworth

_The oldest of toads, had a mission of his own._

_For serving his princess, is all that he's known._

_So how could he deny, her simple request,_

_To buy party supplies, in this holiday mess._

"Oh my, oh my, oh my, oh my." said Toadsworth as he walked, or rather was pushed into the large food court in front of him. Dozens of citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were all trying to get through the doors, past the food court, and to the many shops of Mushroom Mall, the finest mall in the entire kingdom. At least that is what the advertisement says. Toadsworth, as you've seen, was being shoved along by the massive crowd, but that was not what he was worrying about.

"Oh dear Princess Peach, I do rather enjoy being your caretaker and friend. And caretaker, but I am cursing your kindness," Toadsworth said to himself as he had a flashback.

* * *

><p><strong>Flashback<strong>

"No no no! The banner has to be higher so it doesn't cover the wreaths with the lights! Hey, you can't put all of those decorations on just one side of window! Hold on, let me taste that," said Peach who licked some cake batter of a spoon her guard just gave to her, "Uhh, more sugar and less flour."

The toad with the cake batter walked away. Many more toads were in the castle foyer trying to decorate according to their princess's wishes. Everything had to be ready for the grand ball, which was to be held at the castle on Christmas Day. Even though they were still three whole days away, the princess in question was getting quite stressed.

The elderly Toadsworth walked up to her and gave a comforting smile, "You're doing fine my princess and everything will go accordingly. Just relax for now and let me handle things. Is there anything you would like of me?"

Peach paused, looking content, but then her eyes lit up, "Actually, yes there is! I need more decorations from the mall and I ordered five hundred cookies from a bakery there. I was going to ask someone else to do it but I know I can trust you!"

Toadsworth looked doubtful, "Isn't there a large sale going on now with madness and tomfoolery?"

But Toadsworth looked up into those innocent blue eyes of hers that begged him to go, and caved.

"Of course my princess, I shall go at once."

"Thank you Toadsworth! Oh wait, I have a list."

**End Flashback**

* * *

><p>Toadsworth looked down at his shopping list and sighed, "She's still so young."<p>

"Either way, I must complete my task by first going to, Five Below." he read aloud and set off.

* * *

><p>Toadsworth found his destination. Following the trend of selling cheap and not exactly well-made objects for a low price, everything here was only five coins or below that. For those of you who don't know your Mushroom Coin exchange rates, five coins is about one U.S. dollar.<p>

From his list the caretaker read, "Streamers, plates, a wreath, candy..."

After roughly a month of planning this party, the budget for little things like plates and candy was becoming slim. Peach decided it was best to just add, "as many paper plates as you can find" on the list rather than requiring actual glass plates. Finding them was an easy task, but fitting fifteen packs into his basket wasn't. After that, he picked out some red and green streamers along with some nice ornaments he'd found against the back wall that he thought looked appropriate. Soon though, he completed his list with relative ease.

"I like how quiet it is here. Maybe this isn't going to be half as bad as I... My golly!" he said as an ornament knocked him in the head and off his feet, with his supplies flying everywhere.

"Well that was unpleasant." he looked up to see none other than Daisy rounding the corner.

She snickered but forced herself to say, "Sorry Toadsworth."

"Oh, princess Daisy! My goodness was that you who threw that?"

She said nothing but gave a small grin.

"Well, I suppose you didn't mean to do that. At least, I seriously hope not young lady," he said while picking up his supplies.

"Geez Toadsworth, you're not my dad. I don't have time for you to scold me, I'm busy right now and it seems I can't accomplish anything in here!", and with that she tried to exit.

Toadsworth went off, "Miss Daisy, you should be much more respectful to your elders, especially those who look after you!"

"Those who look after me'? Toadsworth, you're not even MY caretaker, so just stop acting like it! I'm sick of you, this stupid Christmas party, and my supposed 'best friend' Peach!"

With that Daisy really did stomp off. Toadsworth wanted badly to yell back, to tell her how immature she was, how ungrateful she was being, and about all the time that he really was there for her. He wanted to, but he didn't.

* * *

><p>"Next up, Mush Mart." thought Toadsworth as he dawdled along. He was trying to keep his focus on the task at hand rather than have his mind cluttered with stressful thoughts, such as princess Daisy's behavior or the chaos currently surrounding him. Mush Mart was a one-stop shop convenience store and it was here that he planned to buy tons of snack foods that could later be put out for the party guests. With all the supplies from Five Below in a bag around one of his shoulders, he grabbed the shopping basket with his other arm and went around the store filling it with bags of junk food that made him cringe when he saw them. He tried to remember if they even had potato chips when he was a child. Even if they did, he would never be allowed to eat such foods because his family was very strict on this sort of thing. Nowadays, he was practically terrified of even touching a chip because of all the negative effects it could have on him.<p>

After a while, he had more than enough of what he needed, so it was time to leave. He waited in a line of about two or three people before it was his turn to check out. The cashier was in the middle of scanning a bag of chips when suddenly, chaos happened.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" screamed a panicked Mario who came running like a madman into the store.

The distraught plumber bumped into a shelf, knocking off many of its merchandise, fell over a rack of magazines, and then crawled into the closest aisle. Toadsworth walked over to see what was the matter.

"Master Mario, what has come over you?" Toadsworth demanded.

The plumber was scanning up down the aisle vigorously while occasionally looking at something in the distance that wasn't there, "I don't have much time. I need to find it and get out of here!"

"Find what? What are you doing?"

The plumber said nothing but repeated his actions.

"Master Mario, you need to calm down now." he tried to tug on Mario but he simply shrugged him off.

"Master Mario! I am ordering you to cease this nonsense at once!" he said sternly.

Then Mario gasped and ducked down low, "They found me."

"Who found you?"

Mario shook Toadsworth and whispered loudly, "Don't let 'em get me! Don't let the teddy get me!"

"Master Mario you are being ridiculous! Unhand me!"

Toadsworth was becoming concerned for his friend's sanity. So he did what came natural, and gave a lecture.

He turned around to get his purchased belongings and began to talk, "Yes Master Mario, I understand the need to feel stressed under circumstances such as the one we are both in today. Today, this establishment is filled to the very brim with those who seem to have lost their wits, but that is no reason to exaggerate the severity of your own mental state. You must remain calm and keep a level head when in extreme situations such as this or you will end up becoming far more stressed than need be. Furthermore…"

After grabbing a bag for each hand the old toad turned around to see that no one was there anymore.

"Hmph!" he grunted, "The nerve of the young generation!"

* * *

><p>It was about midday and Toadsworth was feeling quite good about what he had accomplished so far. All that was left to be done was pick up his suit from "Fancy Fashions" and the large cookie order from the "Tayce T. Bakery". Despite some previous mishaps, he actually managed to stay ahead of schedule so he decided it was time for a little break. Walking around all morning with two shopping bags on your shoulder can be tiresome after all. He had heard talk of a relaxing place somewhere in the mall called the "Rooftop Coffee Shop," so he decided to look for that.<p>

Not long after, he found an elevator with a sign labeled, "Rooftop Coffee Shop: Open on Floor 3!" He promptly stepped inside, hit "floor 3", and watched the doors close. When they opened, he was greeted with the most wonderful smell of coffee in the air. Outside the elevator was just a room-sized shop with a calming red color scheme. A few of the mall shoppers sat here or there at the tables, enjoying their drinks at their own pace. Toadsworth was greatly appreciating the normalcy in here, for he had experienced nothing but craziness for the entire month. In here, time seemed to slip away, and by the time he reached the counter, he had all but forgotten about the princess's royal party.

A man with a mug shaped hat came by to ask him his order, "Is there anything you'd like today sir?"

"Um," thought Toadsworth, "I'll have one decaf latte please. No sugar."

"Coming right up." said the man.

A few minutes later, the man came back and handed a mug over to the toad, "Here you are, one decaf latte. Hey, wait a minute. I know you. You're that guy I met the other day at the royal castle."

Toadsworth didn't know what he was referring to, "And you are?"

"Oh, I'm Josh, I work part time as a delivery boy for the post office. You signed for a package the other day. You complimented me on my good posture."

Toadsworth thought about this for a moment, "Oh yes, I remember now. Thank you for the delivery."

"Sure thing. Enjoy your coffee now," he said while walking away only to have Toadsworth continue the conversation.

"It's just," he began, "really hard being the caretaker for the royal family, you know?"

Josh turned back to him and said slowly, "No, can't say that I know the feeling."

"I mean sure, the position of power I hold is a great honor, but the responsibility of it all. Is it worth it?"

Josh pulled up a stool behind the counter and sat down. Being a coffee shop employee, he was used to complete strangers wanting to vent their problems to him, especially during the "most wonderful time of the year". He wasn't a therapist or anything, but it couldn't hurt to listen.

"Sounds like you're not too happy with your job." he offered the elderly toad.

"At the moment, I suppose, you're right." he drank some coffee.

"Well," Josh paused to choose his advice, "that must mean that most of the time you like it, right?"

Toadsworth smirked, "It has its moments."

"Then maybe just, I don't know, ease up a bit. Like, don't be so hard on yourself and find time to relax."

"Or maybe I could stay here until January." Toadsworth added.

"Naw dude," Josh urged, "you can't just run away from your problems. You still have to face your responsibilities, but also, make time for yourself here and there."

Toadsworth finished his latte, "Perhaps you are right. Today, however, I have a responsibility to the crown. I am the most trusted advisor to the princess herself and I must not let her down."

* * *

><p>Next on his list was to pick up his suit from the store "Fancy Fashions". Once there he told a koopa employee about his suit and they left for the back room to retrieve it. In the meantime, he simply waited at the counter until a familiar voice greeted him.<p>

"Hey Toadsworth." said the voice.

He turned around to see that it was Toadette sporting a pair of sunglasses and several shopping bags.

"Oh hello there Miss Toadette. Pleasure to see you here." said the elderly toad.

"You too but, what's someone like you doing here? Aren't you super busy setting up the Christmas party?"

"Correct. That is my business here today. Currently, I'm waiting on a gentleman to retrieve my suit for me. And you?"

"Oh, well my parents went away for the holidays and gave me money, so I'm on something of a shopping spree."

"Is that so? In that case, I apologize for your parents' absence. You must be missing them after all."

"What? No way! For the first time ever, I can finally be alone and do what _I _want for Christmas!" she threw her hands in the air, "To tell you the truth, I wish they did this years ago!"

Toadsworth responded, "Come now, you don't mean that."

Toadette went to say something, but stopped.

Toadsworth looked at her oddly, "Well, it will be a shame that they will not be attending the festivities this year."

"So, can I get a sneak preview on the party or what?" she said suddenly, "What kind of stuff are you buying?"

Toadsworth showed her the contents of his bags, "Oh, just chips and paper plates, none of the real decorative stuff. I was sent as a last ditch effort of sorts. But I assure you, the castle walls are something to behold this year!"

Toadsworth began chuckling from his statement and Toadette joined him. Then the koopa returned with a finely pressed suit and tie in hand. He gave the suit to Toadsworth and said a few things before walking away.

The older toad turned to Toadette, "What do you think? How does this suit look?"

Toadette smiled, "Dashing."

"Thank you, I think so too," he said, "It was nice to see you Miss Toadette, but I really should be off now. I look forward to seeing you on Christmas Day."

Toadette agreed and waved goodbye as he left.

* * *

><p>It had taken him all day to end up here, but Toadsworth was finally at his last stop. He stood outside the "Tayce T. Bakery", where he hoped to pick-up an order of cookies and at long last return home. It felt like months that he had been in this mall of madness.<p>

"Almost done." he said with a sigh of relief.

Ten minutes of waiting in line brought him to the lovely cook behind the counter.

"Hello there. Pick-up or order?" she asked in a warm tone.

"Pick-up," he informed her, "I'm here about the cookies for the princess."

"Oh, those cookies," she grinned, "I'll be right back."

Toadsworth looked around the shop at various cakes and pastries while she was in the back room. Much like the snack food he had over his shoulder, he would never think to touch any of the delightful desserts sold here. _Too many calories, too much sugar_ he thought. However, he could remember the times when he would sneak a sugary treat for himself at a party or event and how good they can taste. He took a deep breath to take in all the smells throughout the store. It couldn't hurt to try a bit on Christmas day, could it? It is Christmas after all.

A minute later, Tayce T. came back holding a large, light yellow box with her logo printed on the side. Toadsworth couldn't see past the box as Tayce T. talked to him.

"Here you go, one batch of piping hot cookies just as ordered. Careful, the box is a little hot," she told him as she handed it over.

He took the large box with both hands and struggled to hold it at first. Having trouble to see around the box he attempted to say thank you and to pay for the cookies.

"Come again soon!" she waved him goodbye before turning to the next customer.

He wobbled out of the bakery with both shopping bags over his shoulders and the heavy box of cookies in his hands. On his way out, he happened to look down to see a small blinking object. His curiosity got the better of him as he pushed the weight of the box over onto his shoulder and picked up the little orb. It glowed on and off dimly.

He stared at it intently for a minute before realizing that a small girl was staring up at him. It was a young toad girl that was only half as tall as Toadsworth. She had red dots on her head with long brown hair flowing from it. She held in her hand an equally brown teddy bear.

"Hi there mister." She said sweetly, "My name's Emily. Are you having a good day?"

Toadsworth grinned, let the box of cookies drop a bit off his shoulder, shifted his weight, and then grinned again, "Aw, you seem very sweet little girl, but I don't think you should be talking to strangers."

She held the teddy bear to her ear as if it were speaking to her, "Teddy says he knows you."

"What?" questioned Toadsworth.

'Teddy' spoke to her again, "Teddy says, you're that official from the castle. The one that gives all the important orders."

"Important? Well that's very kind of you and all but…"

"Can I have some candy?" she said.

"Huh? Um, I'm not sure that I should give you candy."

"It's not for me, it's for Teddy. He loves candy and everyone all day has been mean and not given him any!"

Toadsworth watched her closely. She stared hopefully up at the older toad. Her cute smile almost made him want to do it, but it was her innocent eyes that made him cave.

"Alright, fine!" he said while momentarily putting down the cookies and searching through his shopping bags, "You can have bag of candy."

Her eyes light up. She grabbed the candy bag ecstatically, "Yes! Thank you mister! You're the best! Now Teddy doesn't have to mug you!"

"What was that?" Toadsworth said.

"Nothing." She said quickly before skipping off with the candy.

Toadsworth shrugged and picked up his box of cookies. He was just barely on the top step of the escalator when the orb began to shine harshly. He yelled and almost fell down the stairs as the orb blinded him. Then, out of nowhere, something small and hard slammed into him causing him to lose his balance for good. He tripped and flew down the escalator knocking into anyone in his path. Cookies flew everywhere.

_As Toadsworth fell down and the cookies flew_

_I'll tell you the tale of someone new._

_For the rest to make sense, I need to tell you_

_How this day played out from another point of view._

* * *

><p>Please review.<p> 


	3. Daisy

_The princess in orange, from a land far away,_

_Got caught in the hustle that's for Christmas day._

_Now to the store, she ran in a rush,_

_For she'd forgotten a present for her holiday crush._

"I did something soooooo bad!" confessed Daisy as she walked, or rather was pushed into the large food court in front of her. Dozens of citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were all trying to get through the doors, past the food court, and to the many shops of Mushroom Mall, the finest mall in the entire kingdom. At least that is what the advertisement says. Daisy, as you've seen, was being shoved along in the massive crowd but that was not what she was worrying about.

"All month, all year I had to buy him a present and I never even got him a card!" Daisy grumbled to herself, "I blame Peach! If she hadn't kept distracting me with her 'fancy' party and all her 'important' events, then I might have remembered to do this earlier."

She continued to complain, as she walked past the food court, "Okay okay, I probably would have forgotten anyway. But it's not my fault if there were so many strange customs here that I've never heard of! In Sarasaland no one decorates trees or hangs stockings; I wanted to be apart of that this year! But now that I've had these new experiences, I've neglected to do one of the only traditions that our two kingdoms do share! I never bought my favorite person a gift!"

Picking the first store she saw, the troubled princess walked inside.

* * *

><p>"Excuse me sir, do you have anything really festive and expensive?" Daisy asked.<p>

The man at the cash register stared blankly before saying, "Really?"

"Yes, please."

"Really?" he said again more sarcastically than before.

"Yes, yes, please just tell me where you keep the good stuff in this lousy shop!"

The man sighed again, "In the back, I suppose."

"See, was that so hard? Thanks..." she read his name tag, "Steven. Next time don't act so clueless to your smart customers. I know that there are bargains hidden all over this mall!"

Steven sighed again as the princess grabbed a basket and walked off, "I hate this job."

The first store that Daisy had walked into was a Five Below. Following the trend of selling cheap and not exactly well-made objects for a low price, everything here was only five coins or below that. For those of you who don't know your Mushroom Coin exchange rates, five coins is about one U.S. dollar. But now she was in such a hurry to find anything that she rushed to the back wall, ignoring the many things that might have tipped her off. She frowned as she looked over several wreaths, plastic toys, and do-it-yourself airplane kits.

"Junk, junk, junk, junk, junk! Ahhh! Nothing here is even remotely good enough! That Steven lied to me! Graaaaaa!" Losing her temper, the princess grabbed an ornament of its hanger and threw it over the aisle.

"My golly!" someone said exclaimed.

Daisy turned the corner and saw the all-too familiar Toadsworth. He was rubbing his head with his shopping basket on the floor.

She snickered but forced herself to say, "Sorry, Toadsworth."

This guy had been ordering her around all this month, almost as much as Peach had. But, still she did just chuck an ornament, although by accident, at the old toad's head.

"Oh, princess Daisy! My goodness, was that you who threw that?"

Daisy gave a small grin as an apology; she didn't regret it enough to actually say it twice.

"Well, I suppose you didn't mean to do that. At least I seriously hope not young lady," he said while picking up his supplies.

"Geez Toadsworth, you're not my dad. I don't have time for you to scold me, I'm busy right now and it seems I can't accomplish anything in here!" With that she tried to exit but stopped when she heard Toadsworth speak again.

"Miss Daisy, you should be much more respectful to your elders, especially those who look after you!"

"Those who look after me'? Toadsworth, you're not even MY caretaker, so just stop acting like it! I'm sick of you, this stupid Christmas party, and my supposed 'best friend' Peach!"

With that Daisy really did stomp off expecting to hear the toad yelling at her to stop. He didn't.

"Thanks for nothing Steve!" she yelled passing the cash register.

* * *

><p>About ten minutes later, Daisy found a place on the second floor called Entertainment 30. Still stressed and upset, she walked inside.<p>

"This one has to be it!"

"It does seem to be pretty popular in here."

By popular, Daisy meant crowded to the extreme. Who doesn't love getting electronics on Christmas, and incidentally, that's what was in stock. The flower princess couldn't help but laugh as she heard some of the arguments over the last Upad or 3DBoy. That is until she actually saw one up close.

"What?! That much for this small thing!"

"Oh yes indeed, but it does so much!" said a store clerk who heard a potential customer; a female toad with short blonde hair named Karen, "It's called the Wii Mii!"

"Wii Who?"

"Wii Mii!"

"Wii U?"

"No, Wii U!"

"Wii Me?"

"Yes! It's the latest product from Soncro Tenga! This small device can play all your favorite portable games!"

"Is that all?"

"Nope! It can also, take pictures, browse the internet, play music, record video, make toast, simulate friendship, give your global location, tell time, read minds, tell the weather, give massages, play television, record televsion, play movies, and see into the future!"

Daisy stared at her for a moment.

"How much of that was true?" she said.

"All of it!" said Karen with a big smile.

"Do they pay you to smile like that?"

"Yes, they do!" she said with an even bigger smile.

"…Goodbye now." Daisy said putting down the device.

Pushing her way through the crowd, she found herself in the middle of a demonstration for some kind of robot dog. She got a closer view and thought she knew the inventor from somewhere.

"RoboHound 4202, locate!" commanded a small man in a white lab coat. The metal dog, which was the size of a normal, small dog, perked its head up. Everyone gathered around stepped back a bit and laughed, as it seemed to be sniffing out the crowd. Finally, it went up to a toad with his hands in his pockets and pointed to him. The toad smiled and handed over a blue, blinking ball that was in his pocket. Everyone cheered. Daisy was impressed but wanted more to figure out who she knew him from.

"Well done, RoboHound" said the inventor, "and thank you sir for aiding in this demonstration! Unfortunately this little guy is one of a kind, but I do hope you all come by my booth I have set up over there to try my other inventions!"

"Wow, what other things do you have?" asked a young boy.

"I have all the latest gear in ghost hunting available today right over there!" the man with the gray swirly hair said.

The crowd almost immediately stopped cheering.

"What else do you have?" asked the same child.

"I'm glad you asked. I've also got incredible lights, that attach to your books and..."

Everyone who had gathered around now gathered around elsewhere in the store. They left, is what I mean. Everyone but the princess Daisy, who stared blankly at the man.

"You there, you want to see my glorious inventions don't you?"

Daisy said nothing at first, "Do-do I know you?"

The man fell over, anime style, then got back up and straightened his jacket, "Elvin Gadd, ghost hunter and inventor extraordinaire!"

"Oh yeah!" Daisy said which made Elvin smile, "No wait, no, no I don't know you."

Gadd hung his head in shame.

Daisy sympathized, "Alright, fine. I'm like super busy right now, but I'll go see your wacky inventions."

To this, Gadd cheered up and guided her over to his booth in Entertainment 30. There, she found all sorts of crazy inventions laid out on a table.

She picked a small mechanical box up, "What's this?"

Gadd then started his long explanations for the device, but Daisy didn't listen.

She just stared down at it, becoming lost in thought, "Wait, what am I doing? I don't have time for this! I still have to... And I still have to... Then I have to..."

"Argh!" she panicked from the stress and pressed one of the many buttons on the small box.

"Wait, no you can't...!" Gadd yelled.

The device exploded in Daisy's face, taking out much of the booth as well. Lots of people around jumped back from the shock. Even those nearby in the clothing store Fredericks were startled by the blast.

"...push that.", continued the scientist.

Now, in most malls, or anywhere in public for that matter, it's usually frowned upon whenever you cause an explosion. That being said, that isn't even the craziest thing to have happened today at Mushroom Mall so Daisy continued her search after being kicked out of Entertainment 30.

* * *

><p>"This would… Ugh. Be a good idea… Eh… If there weren't so many. Argh. People crammed into… Ow hey! You stepped on my foot!" Daisy complained while trying to read book titles amongst a crowd. She was in Shelves, a humble little bookstore in the corner of the mall. The store is aptly named for its many shelves lined with books of all genres. Unfortunately for Daisy, however, where it makes up for in shelve space, the store lacks in overall size. Being the only bookstore in the mall, it was crowded with customers nonetheless.<p>

The princess was more interested in things she could see, like sports or video games, but knew that Luigi could be quite the bookworm sometimes. He could spend days at home alone with a single book in hand. Whenever she asked him to join her in some activity during these times he would simply respond with a "maybe next time". While others like, Peach or Toadsworth, become concerned from this kind of behavior, Daisy knows that he's just doing something that makes him happy, so it's okay. Thinking about this made her want to definitely buy him some kind of novel, even if it wasn't his main present. Suddenly though, she was having trouble keeping her head straight.

"I can't think in here. I thought bookstores were supposed to be quiet!" Daisy yelled in her mind, "Okay, just focus. Luigi. I'm here for Luigi. Luigi. Luigi. Lui…"

"…gi!" she said out loud.

The plumber in question was a mere ten feet away from her! She panicked and hid behind a nearby shelf.

"What do I do now?!" she frantically thought to herself.

After a moment, she leaned her head out to see if he was still there. To her complete shock, he was there and looking her way. Their eyes met for a brief second, then he started to walk over to her! Daisy screamed in her mind and threw herself to the floor hoping that would somehow be enough for him to go away.

"Daisy?" said a voice above her causing her to freeze.

"Oh, hey there Weegee, didn't see you there." she said standing up, "Whatcha, uh, doing here?"

She was trying desperately to keep her cool, all the while still screaming in her head.

"Nothing, just looking." he said slowly, "Daisy, are you okay? You don't look so good."

She felt as if she would faint, "What? Of course I'm okay. Why wouldn't I be okay? It's not like I forgot to buy something super important and now I'm here to buy it last minute, or something! Or something! That would make me an awful person but I'm not and I didn't so I'm perfectly fine!"

Luigi looked mortified once Daisy was done her rant.

_He knows. He knows!_ she thought.

Luigi starred at the ground, "I-I-I..."

By this point, the guilty princess felt horribly sick to her stomach and began to sob lightly. She couldn't take it anymore.

"Oh my god!" said Daisy suddenly as she embraced him in a hug, "I'm so sorry Luigi! Look its okay; I'm going to make this right I promise! Please don't be mad at me!"

As she continued to speak, Luigi's sad face was replaced with another confused one.

"But..." he began to say before being thrown back into another hug.

"No! No excuses! It's all going to be alright when I'm done." she backed off and looked into his eyes, "Just let me do what has to be done!"

She gave him a warm smile and ran off before she broke into tears.

* * *

><p><em>Why do the holidays have to be so stressful? Stress makes me all dramatic and stuff. I don't like it.<em> Daisy thought to herself. She sat in the food court by the entrance with a turkey sub and a large milkshake. It was helping her calm down.

She thought of Luigi's face, about how happy he looks whenever they're together, and how upset he'll be when she finds out what she did. Trying to keep her stress level down, she let her mind drift into good memories.

**Flashback **

"Are you crying?" asked a small voice.

**Reality **

Daisy broke her daze to see a young toad girl. She had red dots on her head and long brown hair.

The girl held a brown teddy bear in Daisy face, "Teddy thinks you should be happy."

Daisy sniffled, "That's very nice of you. Thank you."

"Do you have any candy?" asked the girl.

"No I don't. I'm sorry." Said Daisy, but the little girl started to cry.

The disappointed toad cried heavily causing Daisy to start crying to, "Oh no, I made her cry! What's wrong with me?"

She spoke to the little girl, "I-If I can't even get you any candy, then how will I ever get Luigi a present? I tried to buy something but then Toadsworth showed up and was being a jerk. So then, I went to buy him a video game but there was this robot dog and an old man with ghost stuff, and a button, and I pushed the button, and everything exploded, so they kicked me out. Then I go to buy a book, right, but before I can, I run into Luigi, the same one, and I made him cry so I cried then I came here and ate food and cried some more and I need to get him a present or else…"

The toad girl became agitated as Daisy continued her confession: her face changing to reflect that. Finally, she interrupted.

"Geez, I just wanted candy for my teddy bear. I didn't want your life story." She said as she walked off.

Daisy looked dumbstruck for a minute while the girl walked away. It didn't take her long, however, for her to go back to the thoughts she previously had in mind. Trying to keep her stress level down, she let her mind drift into good memories.

**Flashback **(for real)

Two figures, a man and a woman, walked side by side along the cobblestone path in Toad Town. The sun had just fallen below the horizon and street lights were just starting to come on. A brisk winter chill blew through the street as nightfall was almost upon them.

"I thought it was a pretty good movie," he said.

"Psh, no way. The acting was all wrong for the characters and that one guy I liked was killed off within the first ten minutes," she said.

"He didn't die though. He just, sorta, left."

"Yeah and I liked him. The whole movie I thought he would come back but nope. But," she smiled, "I still had a good time seeing it with you. Thanks for taking me."

"Thanks for going with me," he smiled shyly back, "Next time I'll pick a better movie."

"Next time, I'll pick the movie," she said.

They both laughed at this and continued walking along the path. Shops and houses lined both sides of the street. They gradually turned their lights off the later it got. Another chill caused the lady to wrap her arms around herself and clouds started to gather in the sky. The man gave her the scarf he had around his neck. She gratefully took it. Finally, the two arrived at their destination, the royal castle. They both stopped to say their goodbyes.

"I had a really good time tonight," he said, "We should do this again sometime."

"Yeah, we should." she said, "Soon."

Then there was a moment before the "goodbyes," a moment when both said nothing but wanted to say so much, and in this moment, something amazing happened.

"Look!" he said with his head tilted towards the sky.

She followed his gaze and saw the most wonderful sight; snow was falling from the heavens down upon them. She looked straight up to see it endlessly fall down.

"Wow, Luigi, this is so beauti…" she looked back to him but was cut off.

She was shocked as he leaned over to kiss her.

She stood back and turned bright red. Time seemed to freeze all at once as they both stared at each and said nothing again, him with his shy smile and her with her wide eyes. When she didn't change her shocked expression, he grew worried.

"I-I, I'm sorry, that was just really sudden wasn't it? I-I don't know what came over…"

She kissed him as snow fell on their heads for the longest minute. She then embraced him in warm hug.

"Real soon." she whispered in his ear.

"You should get inside." he said, "It's too cold out here."

She stood back, "Yeah, and it's getting late. Hey, do you want your scarf back?"

"Naw, keep it. You need warmer clothes."

She giggled at this then looked him in his eyes, "Goodnight Luigi."

"Goodnight Daisy."

End Flashback

She wished she had that scarf now.

* * *

><p>A little while later, Daisy hadn't moved. She couldn't get herself to leave and find a new store or even just go home. She just sat there, sobbing lightly ever so often and trying to hide it from the shoppers around her. She was staring down at the table when suddenly a figure walked up to her and said something.<p>

"Daisy, what happened? Are you okay?"

She looked up to see that it was Mario. _Perfect,_ she thought sarcastically.

"Oh, hi Mario." she tried to smile like she was okay and gave a sniffle, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

Mario sat down beside her. "Daisy, you don't look fine. Tell me what's wrong."

The floral princess could no longer take it. She felt tired and weak. All it took was Mario saying one thing for her to crack. She broke down into tears.

"I messed up Mario. I messed up big time." she managed to say through the tears.

Mario was taken aback then went in to comfort her, "Calm down Daisy. Don't cry. Whatever it is can't be that bad. Just tell me what you did."

She sniffled and stopped her tears. Could she really tell Mario, Luigi's own brother? How would he react? Could he be trusted? Could he really help?

"Daisy, whatever it is, I can help." He reassured her.

"Okay. Well, you know how my land has different customs for the holidays?" she started slow.

"Yeah?"

"And you know how I've been super busy with Peach and this big party she's been planning?"

"Yeah?"

"And-And," her eyes watered, "You know how Luigi and I have been dating for a little while now?"

"Yeah, and what happened? He didn't dump you did he?" Mario asked with an angry expression.

"No."

"Then, what? Just tell me already."

She took a deep breath then said it, "I forgot to buy him a Christmas present!"

She fell on Mario's shoulder and began crying again.

"Oh. Is that all?" said Mario.

She looked him in the eyes seriously, "Is that all?' Yes that's all! It's something really important and I totally neglected to do it!"

"It's just a present. He'll understand."

"That's the thing. I bumped into him in Shelves earlier. He was totally freaked out and upset. I did that!"

Mario paused, "Calm down. It's just a present, and you don't know that he was upset about you. For all you know he could be out today because he forgot to buy you a present!"

"No, it was definitely because of me. He wouldn't forget that sort of thing."

She laid her head down on the table and sobbed, "What am I going to do?"

Mario looked down at her while he sat in thought.

"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he asked.

"Yeah." she said with her head still down, "It's the only custom our two kingdoms share. Back home, when you give a gift to someone, you don't just re-gift it or throw it away. It symbolizes a bond between people, and the better the gift, the stronger that bond. If I don't get Luigi anything, our bond will break."

"Then I know what you're gonna do." said Mario.

_As Mario explained his plan through,_

_I'll tell you the tale, of someone new._

_For the rest to make sense, I need to tell you, _

_How this day played out, from another point of view._


	4. Toadette

Having received money, from her parents afar,

A young Toadette set off, alone in her car.

Unaware of the sale, that had begun at the mall,

She's determined to treat herself, once and for all.

"He he he he he." giggled Toadette as she walked, or rather was pushed into the large food court in front of him. Dozens of citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were all trying to get through the doors, past the food court, and to the many shops of Mushroom Mall, the finest mall in the entire kingdom. At least that is what the advertisement says. Toadette, as you've seen, was being shoved along by the massive crowd, and she was actually enjoying it.

"Why can't all malls be this fun!?" she thought to herself as she reached the food court Outside of the food court, the large crowd flooding the entrance had spread out enough to not feel claustrophobic. Toadette was a little worried when she first saw the rush. She'd never even heard of this big blowout sale anyway, but she was here now and looking forward to buying something for herself. Her parents usually did that for her, but this year they decided to go to Isle Delfino for the holidays and sent their daughter money instead. Toadette was a little sad when she had found that out, but she wouldn't feel alone because she had been invited to a fancy Christmas party at the royal castle.

"Ohhh, where should I start?" she questioned. She looked around in every direction to see lines; tens of, hundreds of, thousands of lines.

"Well, I'm not too hungry since I just ate breakfast, but I suppose staying here and waiting out the crowds a bit would be best for now."

So the young toad found a nice pretzel shop, a table, and sat down hoping the endless sea of people would clear out.

* * *

><p>They didn't. Some time later, Toadette was still sitting in the Food Court as people rushed about around her.<p>

"That didn't work at all." She looked behind her at the escalators, "Upstairs it is!"

Upstairs, she found the clothing store "Fredericks", which was just a boring, average store filled with clothes. Toadette squeeled as she ran inside.

"Shoes yes! No no no, handbags! No wait, hats! T-shirts! Dresses!" shouted a thrilled Toadette, her shopping instincts taking over.

She skipped over to a section with jeans and pants, looking them over and trying some on. Grabbing a few pairs, she moved on to grab some new shirts she could wear around her house. Spotting the cutest pair of sandals, she threw those in her basket before anyone else could get them. In the back of the store, she found an amazingly priced swimsuit that no on seemed to want. Then she quickly...

"Wait, slow down Toadette," she told herself, "I need to be practical with spending my money or else I'm gonna blow it all in here. There are so many other stores I wanted to see! Alright, I'll just buy one more thing, something practical, and go somewhere else. Gloves, I'll buy some gloves so my hands don't get cold."

With that thought, she put back the summer wear and headed to the front of the store that displayed warmer winter clothing.

"This pair is nice," she held up a dark red pair.

"Or these," a black pair with a snowflake pattern.

"Why does glove shopping seem to make my hands cold?" she held up a blue pair with stars on them.

"Seriously, what the heck?" she rubbed her cold hands while holding up a plain white pair.

She was about to give up when she saw the pair she wanted. Behind her, in a bin full of gloves, was a pair that was a bright red, had a large white circle in the middle, and had an red "M" in the middle.

"Mario gloves!" she darted for them and just as her hand went to reach them, another hand ran into hers.

"Ow! Hey what's your prob...", Toadette started to yell but stopped as she realized it was her friend, "Luigi? What are you doing here?"

"Please, Toadette! I need those gloves!" he begged.

She grabbed the gloves, "What? No way! I saw them first and besides, I adore Mario! You don't even _like_ him most days!"

"What? That's not true! I'm trying to but those FOR Mario!"

"Oh."

"Yes, so please let me have them?"

"Hmmmmm, no."

"Whaaat?! You just said you 'adored' my brother!" Luigi yelled.

"I do but think about how cool I'll look walking into the castle at the big party. Everyone will have lame old, regular gloves, and I'll be rocking my new Mario brand pair in front of all of them! It will be amazing!" she fantasied.

Luigi looked confused but Toadette was busy in her own world, "Yes these gloves are new princess! Oh yes I did get them on sale! Oh I agree, red is my color! What, you say they look so much amazing-er than your lame old white gloves? Why yes they do, thank you!"

Coming back to reality, Toadette focused on Luigi who seemed to be spacing out and looked like he was about to cry.

"Well geez, don't cry about it. Mario's a cool guy, he'll understand if you don't get him something great, like these gloves," she said, trying to comfort him while mumbling that last part under her breath, "Just go somewhere else and find something better."

Without bothering to listen to Luigi's response, Toadette joyfully skipped off to buy her gloves.

* * *

><p>Thirty minutes and 100 coins later, Toadette was strolling along with a shopping bag containing a new purse, a half eaten pretzel, and of course, the Mario themed gloves. On her face, she wore a sporty pair of sunglasses that were a "must have" for bright, snowy landscapes. She was feeling pretty good about her purchases so far and was ready to find another interesting store she could spend money in.<p>

"Hello." Said a small voice that Toadette walked past.

She stopped and turned around to look for the owner of the voice. She looked around behind her to see nothing, but then looked down to see a small toad girl. She had red dots on her head and long brown hair. In her hands, she held and equally brown teddy bear.

"Oh, uh, hello there." Toadette said awkwardly, "Do you need something?"

The little girl held out her bear and spoke in a lower tone, "I want candy."

Toadette was unimpressed, "That's nice. Why don't your run along and go get your parents to buy you some."

"Why don't you give me yours?" said the girl in her normal voice.

Toadette just walked away, but was followed by the girl.

"Hey! That's rude! You're not supposed to ignore people when they talk to you." Said the girl.

"You're also not supposed to demand candy from strangers." Toadette called back.

The little girl stopped, "You're a meanie-face!"

She held up her teddy bear and spoke again in her lower tone, "You'll be sorry that you didn't give us any candy!"

Toadette merely rolled her eyes as she walked away.

Soon, she started smelling some sort of sweet fragrance that felt wrong to avoid. She followed her nose to a stand set up in the middle of the mall walkway that people started to crowd around. It seemed to be a drama stage, so Toadette wondered if a performance of some sort was about to begin. All she knew for certain was that the most wonderful smell was coming from behind the dark purple curtains. Suddenly, somewhat eerie but theatrical music started to play, peaking the crowd's curiosity.

Then came a voice with the same eerie yet dramatic sound as the music, "Yes! Yes my friends, come near! Come close, gather around and do not fear! This is important! I do not jest! If you've come for a product, mine is the best!"

The curtains flew open to reveal the performer behind the voice. There, on stage, stood a figure dressed like a jester complete with a purple and yellow floppy hat. His face was covered with a black and white theatre mask that made him seem all the more mysterious.

"My name, you wonder, is Daemon! Just as a car about to hit you presents its headlights, I present to you…!"

Two tables with dark purple bottles on them seemed to appear from thin air besides him, "Demented, by Daemon!"

The impressed crowd, Toadette included, clapped for the display. Each bottle had a strong, pleasing smell that enticed her to buy some.

"Yes, Demented by Daemon!" he continued as some came up to get samples, "It is my new line of perfume that is guaranteed to have all the men look your direction and all the ladies swoon over your charm! People will cheer when you walk by and others will stand in ovation whenever you enter a room! The smell of my perfume is the very essence of magic itself!"

Toadette walked up to the stage to see which one she liked better. She spritzed some on her wrist and smiled dreamily when she smelled it.

"I see your enjoying it," said Daemon who turned his attention to Toadette.

"Yes, yes I am." she replied.

"That's good, because I made that bottle specifically, for you."

She giggled awkwardly upon hearing this, "Are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Just, the sparkle, behind your shades, has peaked my interest." he said with a sly smile.

"Oh." she said through a giggle as her face turned red.

"What did I say, all the men look your direction when you wear my perfume. Of course, not that you need it"

Toadette couldn't stop herself from giggling by this point, "In that case, I'll buy five."

Daemon went to say something else but before he could speak he was tackled to the stage floor. All the bottles shattered and all sorts of scents spilled into the air. People walking by gasped while those close enough began a coughing fit from a gas cloud of perfume. Toadette waved her hand in front of her while coughing.

After a moment, the purple cloud dissipated enough to see the mess. Shattered glass lay all over the ground while two figures were lying down on the broken stage floor.

"Mario?" said Toadette.

The figure on the bottom was Daemon struggling to get free while on top of him was the plumber, Mario, who pinned him to the ground.

"Boys! Boys! You don't have to fight over me. Of course I'll marry you both." Toadette said hopefully but frowned when neither one responded.

Mario's attention was focused on the jester, "What are you up to you evil clown?!"

"Let go of me you psychopath!" said Daemon, "Security!"

"Mario! What are you doing to him?!" Toadette insisted.

While still wrestling with Daemon, Mario grunted his answer, "Toadette you, grah, don't under-s-stand. This guy, rah, is a villain-egh, and he's extremely, erh, dangerous!"

"What?!" both Toadette and Daemon said at the same time.

Two intimidating looking security guards showed up to break up this fight. One pulled Mario off of Daemon and held him back while the other looked at Daemon accusingly.

"What seems to be the problem?" the one holding back Mario said harshly.

"The problem," said Mario, "is that this guy over here is not who he says he is. His name is Dimentio and he's an evil mastermind with an insanity addiction!"

"A what now?" said the guard.

"He's insane. Find out for yourself." replied Mario.

The guards turned to Daemon as it was his turn to talk, "I can't say I have any idea what this man is referring to. My name is Daemon, traveler of lands, seller of perfumes!"

He removed his hat and took a quick bow, "I was simply trying to sell my newest perfume line to the fine customers of this mall when out of nowhere this imbecile ran up and ruined everything!"

The guards both looked to Toadette, "Is this true ma'am?"

She paused, "Um."

Mario was her absolute all time hero, but she adored Daemon's charm. She was torn between telling the truth and not getting her hero thrown out of the mall.

"Y-Yes." she said at last.

"Do you have a license?" they asked Deamon.

"Yes I do." he handed it to them.

One of the guards scanned it over, handed it back then turned to Mario, "Okay bud, you're coming with us."

"But I, but he's, but, but, but, but!" Mario pleaded as the guards began to drag him away.

That just left Toadette and Daemon standing alone by the mess of a stage.

After a moment of standing, Daemon turned to Toadette and said, "Well, I have no more business here. Thus, like a gentle leaf caught in a hurricane, I must depart."

"There must be something left you can do. You can rebuild and start again!" she looked back at the stage, "I mean, the damage really isn't that bad and I'm sure you could still salvage a lot of the ingredi…"

"…ents." when she looked back he was gone and no where to be found.

That just left Toadette standing alone by the mess of the stage.

* * *

><p>Going through all that left Toadette a little dispirited. So, cool sunglasses still on, she decided to go shop for something she knew would maker her happy. That's why she walked into "Fancy Fashions" to buy herself the best possible dress for the evening she'll spend at the castle.<p>

It was beautiful. It was eloquent. It was pink. It was expensive.

Toadette checked her purse. She had just a little more than enough. She gave the smallest smile as she went to grab the dress and walked over to a mirror. She held it up to the mirror to see what it would look like on her and momentarily took off the sunglasses. On her face there was a smile, but in the reflection her eyes watered.

Toadette blinked a few times while putting the sunglasses back on and then headed over to the check out. When she got there she recognized a familiar face that was standing around.

"Hey Toadsworth." she greeted him.

"Oh hello there Miss Toadette. Pleasure to see you here." said the elderly toad.

"You too but, what's someone like you doing here? Aren't you super busy setting up the Christmas party?"

"Correct. That is my business here today. Currently I'm waiting on a gentleman to retrieve my suit for me. And you?"

"Oh, well my parents went away for the holidays and gave me money so I'm on something of a shopping spree."

"Is that so? In that case, I apologize for your parents' absence. You must be missing them after all."

"What? No way! For the first time ever, I can finally be alone and do what _I _want for Christmas!" she threw her hands in the air, "To tell you the truth, I wish they did this years ago!"

Toadsworth responded, "Come now, you don't mean that."

Toadette's voice caught in her throat when she tried to speak.

Toadsworth looked at her oddly, "Well it will be a shame that they will not be attending the festivities this year."

"So can I get a sneak preview on the party or what?" she said trying to change the subject, "What kind of stuff are you buying?"

Toadsworth showed her the contents of his bags, "Oh, just chips and paper plates, none of the real decorative stuff. I was sent as a last ditch effort of sorts. But I assure you, the castle walls are something to behold this year!"

Toadsworth began chuckling from his statement and Toadette joined him. Then a koopa with a finely pressed suit and tie arrived. He handed the suit to Toadsworth and said a few things before walking away.

The older toad turned to Toadette, "What do you think? How does this suit look?"

Toadette smiled, "Dashing."

"Thank you, I think so too," he said, "It was nice to see you Miss Toadette but I really should be off now. I look forward to seeing you on Christmas day."

Toadette agreed and waved him goodbye. Then, when he had left, she sighed deeply and went to pay for her dress.

* * *

><p>15 coins. That was all Toadette had left. She walked around a little, partly because she wasn't sure what to buy for 15 coins and partly because she didn't want to leave yet. Others couldn't wait to leave the mall and never turn back, but Toadette wished she wouldn't ever have to leave. It was nice here. Everyone rushing around seemed to blame the mall or the sale for his or her problems, but Toadette thought otherwise. They don't even realize that the mall is their escape from their problems. Are they really facing any of the problems they deal with right now? <em>No<em> thought Toadette.

She walked into the bookstore "Shelves" in hopes that she could haggle herself a new read. Unfortunately for her, that would be harder then she hoped.

"What a rip off!" she said while looking over the overly priced books.

"Some sale." She added sarcastically while holding a 30 coin book.

Her chances of finding something affordable in here were looking grim. She was just about to give up when an unusual voice called out to her.

"Over here." said the voice.

Toadette followed the sound to the corner of the bookstore. There, she saw an old lady standing alone and waving her over. Toadette slowly came closer. The old lady had torn robes that flowed mysteriously in the nonexistent wind and her hair was an odd shade of light green. Her face was old and wrinkled and Toadette swore it looked as if she was glowing a faint bluish color.

_A jester and now this? What is this, Halloween?_ thought Toadette.

The women reached inside her tattered robes and pulled at a dusty book.

She blew the dust in Toadette's face before speaking, "I believe this book would be most helpful, to the five of you."

Toadette's eyebrow rose, _Is she blind too?_

"How much…?" Toadette said slowly.

The old lady grinned, "Hm, how about, 15 coins?"

Toadette thought cautiously, but finally smiled, "Deal."

She dropped the money in the lady's bony, outreached hand and was handed the book. Saying "thanks and goodbye", she turned to walk away. She looked down at the book in her hand. It felt strange and didn't have a title adorning its cover. She causally flipped the book open the first page: It was blank. She flipped to the second page. That was blank too. Third page: blank. Fourth page: blank. Fifth! Sixth! Seventh! Eighth!

She flipped quickly through the entire book. It was completely blank.

She turned back to yell at the lady in the corner, "Hey! What are you trying to pull…"

"…here." The corner was empty.

Toadette was bewildered. She ran around the area, pushing past several shoppers, to find the old lady. She couldn't find her.

Toadette gave up.

_It was only 15 coins after all._ She thought while leaving Shelves.

She was out of money and tired. Despite her earlier thoughts, she was ready to call it quits and go home. That book still bothered her though. She looked through the blank pages as she walked, studying them as if she were solving a mystery. Flipping through the book again, her eyes suddenly widened.

_That was not there before. _She thought.

On a random page she was on, there was a small passage.

She read aloud:

"Emotions can kill, words can be painful,

But nothing you do can shatter a bond.

Losing a friend, is losing yourself

Heed the word of the one from beyond."

_What a weird poem._ Thought Toadette as she read it over in her head.

She was too involved in the book to notice a bright flash by the top of the escalators.

_As Toadette read on, through pages she flew_

_I'll tell you the tale, of someone new._

_For the rest to make sense I need to tell you_

_How this day played out from another point of view._

* * *

><p>(Singing) "All I want for Christmas is review." Bad joke is very bad. One character left and its a good one!<p> 


	5. Mario

_Of all of my stories, the saddest is this._

_It's of an unfortunate fellow, whose ignorance was bliss._

_That is until now, as it is about to be said,_

_Ignorance proved painful, to the plumber in red._

"What is wrong with you people!" said Mario as he walked, or rather was pushed into the large food court in front of him. Dozens of citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom were all trying to get through the doors, past the food court, and to the many shops of Mushroom Mall, the finest mall in the entire kingdom. At least that is what the advertisement says. Mario, as you've seen, was being shoved along by the massive crowd but that was not what he was worrying about.

Mario was there for just two simple things. Unaware of the madness being caused by the sale, the plumber came today for only some bread and toilet paper and he picked the worst time in the world to do so.

The crowd played "Mario pinball" with him as they knocked him back and forth. He stumbled a few feet into the food court area, twirled around an empty table, and fell over a chair.

After lying with his nose to the ground for a few seconds, he got to his knees and yelled, "Can anyone tell me what is going on in this crazy, wacked up mall!?"

"Um, yes sir, I can help you right here." said the man at the information desk two feet away.

Mario got of his knees and stood up, "Oh. I didn't see you there."

"That's okay. Would you like some information sir?" said the man.

"Yes. One "what is going on in this crazy, wacked up mall" please?"

"You mean you really don't know?"

"Obviously not."

"No kidding."

"Uh, yeah."

"Really?" he said skeptically.

"Yes." Mario reassured him.

The man stared him down, "…Really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh… Really?"

"I hate you."

"Well that's not a nice thing to sa-hey" it was at this point that another store clerk rushed up to put their hand over the information man's mouth.

"Oh, I'm so sorry sir." said this new lady, "Please don't mind Jerry here, he's new and a complete moron."

She stared at Jerry angrily, "I'm Sharon. I can answer any questions you have."

"Mhm mhm mmhmm mrahm" mumbled Jerry.

"Uh, okay." replied Mario, "I just wanted to know why the mall was so crazy today"

Jerry mumbled some more and Sharon pushed him away, "You've come at an amazing time sir! The Mushroom Mall is in the midst of its Grand Holiday Super Store Super Sale!"

"Super sale?" asked Mario.

"Yup. With only three days until Christmas, prices are slashed dramatically all across the mall! Sales as far as you can see! Hundreds of patrons from all over the kingdom all gathered in one place to do one thing: shop for everything and anything they need for the greatest season of the year! Isn't it amazing?!" she yelled.

"Um, can I talk to Jerry again?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just get all worked up during the holiday season. Can I direct you to something sir?"

"No thanks, I can find it," replied Mario, "Thank you for your help though."

"You're welcome. Have a good day!" she waved as Mario walked off.

* * *

><p><em>Okay, this won't be so bad,<em> Mario thought to himself. _Just think of it as one of your adventures. All these people are just like Bowser's minions, except I can't stomp any of them, and all these stores are like different worlds I have to go through, except they're not as exciting. Now I just need to rescue the princess like always, except the princess this time is bread and toilet paper, not the princess. Huh, this sucks."_

"No, no, no, no, don't think of it that way. It's an important mission nonetheless. I must not be discouraged or distracted."

"I will save the toilet paper!" he announced out loud, causing many to stare at him.

He walked on with his head low mumbling, "No distractions, no distractions no-Ooo electronics!"

The bright LCD lights and flashing T.V. monitors drew the plumber into Entertainment 30, a store on the second floor specializing in electronics and media. He walked inside to take a look around. It was surprising to hear so many people arguing about the latest technology. Mario thought anything new was supposed to be better, but that didn't seem to be the case here. Many arguments seemed to be coming from shoppers saying things like how the new Upad didn't hold as much memory as older versions or how their T.V. seemed to display 720p when it was advertised as 1080i. But many simply chose to fight amongst themselves over who would get to take home what.

Mario smiled when he looked over the video game section. When he wasn't out saving the world or playing sports with friends, he was at home on the couch playing video games. His favorites, of course, were the ones he was in. This company "Nintendo" got pretty popular from making a few "Mario" themed games based on some of his adventures. Of course they always seem to get the details wrong, like in their game "Mario Galaxy" where they had Mario fighting Bowser in a giant robo-mech rather than his normal plumbers attire and in "Paper Mario" where they took out all his actual allies and used famous celebrities instead. Still, the games sold well.

He thought of Luigi, who would usually be in the chair next to him on days like this, covered in blankets even though it was 60 degrees outside and nose stuck in a thick book. He could always tell when Mario turned the volume on the T.V. up at all and yelled at him when he did. Whenever he was asked why he couldn't go upstairs to read, Luigi would say how its too cold up there. Oddly enough, their upstairs was always colder. Boos perhaps? Anyway, Mario smiled when he thought of his gift for his bro. He had bought him an electric blanket and a murder mystery book entitled "Caribbean Murder Cruise".

But then, a sudden, frightening noise snapped him back to reality.

"OMG look! It's Mario!"

* * *

><p>Mario ran quickly through the mall, ever so often looking over his shoulder to see a huge mass of people chasing after him, all screaming his name. After he had a bit of distance on them, he ran up and slid under a bench, covering his head as he did so. Then he tried his hardest to stay completely still.<p>

"What are you doing mister?" came a small voice.

Mario opened his eyes and looked up at the face of young female toad. She had red dots on her head (cap?) and long brown hair, which matched the equally brown teddy bear she held her hand.

"Oh, I'm hiding." Mario replied.

"Hiding from what?" she wondered.

"There's this large fan crowd that all want to get me and I can't afford that right now. Please little girl, can you go so they don't see me?"

"Do you have any candy?" the girl said in a deeper tone.

"What? Uh, no." he admitted slowly, "What happened to your voice?"

"That was 'teddy'." she said, "He wants candy."

"Okay…" he said, "But I don't have any."

"Gimme your candy." she said in the deeper tone.

"Little girl, I don't have any candy. Now shoo before someone sees!"

"I don't want any though, it's Teddy!" she said then held the teddy bear up to her ear as if it spoke to her, "Teddy says if you don't give any candy, something bad will happen."

"Okay girl, you're starting to freak me out her so just…"

"Hey look everyone, Mario's hiding under this bench!" yelled "Teddy" as the little girl held him high in the air.

"What?!" Mario yelled in shock then quickly took off in a panic.

"Maaaaariiiiioooooo!" shouted the fans.

He dashed down the path and flew around a corner to see Mush Mart.

"That's it! That's where I needed to go!" he said.

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!" he screamed as he ran into the convenience store.

The distraught plumber bumped into a shelf knocking off many of its merchandise, fell over a rack of magazines, and then crawled into the closest aisle to hide.

He stopped a moment to catch his breath when he heard a familiar voice that made him jump, "Master Mario, what has come over you?"

He glanced over to see it was only Toadsworth then began to rapidly scan through the aisle and ones around him. He was here. The bread and toilet paper that he craved so bad was all within his reach. He occasionally looked off into the mall to see if any of his crazy fans were onto him but he could see none, at least for the moment.

He remembered Toadsworth and said, "I don't have much time. I need to find it and get out of here!"

Toadsworth said something after that but Mario was too busy trying to find the stupid products that didn't seem to even be here. He peeked over the aisle again to see the fan crowd now out in the mall but luckily they didn't spot him.

"Master Mario, you need to calm down now." Toadsworth tugged on him, but he shrugged him off.

"Master Mario! I am ordering you to cease this nonsense at once!" the caretaker said sternly.

He must have only looked back over the aisle for a split second this time, but that's all it took. A single fan locked eyes with Mario for just that second before Mario could react and they smiled widely.

Then Mario gasped and ducked down low, "They found me."

"Who found you?"

Mario shook Toadsworth and whispered loudly, "Don't let 'em get me! Don't let the teddy get me!"

"Master Mario you are being ridiculous! Unhand me!"

Mario did so and the old toad walked away while talking back to him in the form of a lecture.

"Yes Master Mario, I understand the blah blah blah," he began but Mario stopped listening.

"I need to get out of here now!" he panicked again.

Too late. A rabid fan snuck up behind him and yanked him out into the open before Mario had time to protest. He spent the next hour or so within a crowd of fans, being forced to sign copies of his video games or taking pictures for someone's cousin. This one simple task he had to do that should have only taken him 20 minutes was becoming an all-day affair.

* * *

><p>Mario had long since ditched the many that idolized him, but now had a new problem: he was lost. As far as he could tell, he must have took a wrong turn somewhere and stumbled into a new dimension entirely. It certainly wouldn't be the first time it had happened. Anyone he asked for directions either ignored him or didn't seem to know where anything was. So, he just wondered around the mall interior for what seemed like hours. It was only about 5 minutes.<p>

Suddenly Mario's eyes grew wide in shock, "You?"

On a very small stage nearby in the center of the mall stood a figure dressed up like a jester. His yellow and purple hat stood on his head and over his face he wore a black and white theatre mask with a wicked smile.

"Dimentio." Mario said with a snarl.

He clenched his fists and ran straight for the jester on stage, tackling him to the ground. Bottles of perfume shattered and a cloud of purple spilled into the air. People walking by gasped while those close enough began coughing heavily. Though he could no longer see him, Mario coughed and shifted all his weight onto the struggling jester.

After a moment, the purple cloud dissipated enough to see the mess. Shattered glass lay all over the ground while the crowd watched both figures lying down on the broken stage floor.

"Mario?" said a nearby voice.

Mario pinned Dimentio to the broken stage floor, "What are you up to you evil clown?!"

"Let go of me you psychopath!" said the Dimentio, "Security!"

"Mario! What are you doing to him?!" Mario looked over his shoulder to see Toadette speaking to him.

While still wrestling with Dimentio, Mario grunted his answer, "Toadette you, grah, don't under-s-stand. This guy, rah, is a villain-egh, and he's extremely, erh, dangerous!"

"What?!" both Toadette and Dimentio said at the same time.

Two intimidating looking security guards showed up to break up this fight. One pulled Mario off of Dimentio and held him back while the other looked at the Dimentio accusingly who simply smiled innocently.

"What seems to be the problem?" the one holding back Mario said harshly.

"The problem," said Mario, "is that this guy over here is not who he says he is. His name is Dimentio and he's an evil mastermind with an insanity addiction!"

"A what now?" said the guard.

"He's insane. Find out for yourself." replied Mario.

The guards turned to Dimentio as it was his turn to talk, "I can't say I have any idea what this man is referring to. My name is Daemon, traveler of lands, seller of perfumes!"

He removed his hat and took a quick bow, "I was simply trying to sell my newest perfume line to the fine customers of this mall when out of nowhere this imbecile ran up and ruined everything!"

The guards both looked to Toadette, "Is this true ma'am?"

She paused, "Um."

Mario glared at Dimentio who stuck his tongue back at him. Then the plumber looked pleadingly towards Toadette as she decided what to say.

"Y-Yes." she said at last.

"Do you have a license?" they asked "Deamon".

"Yes I do." he handed it to them.

One of the guards scanned it over, handed it back then turned to Mario, "Okay bud, you're coming with us."

"But I, but he's, but, but, but, but!" Mario pleaded as the guards began to drag him away.

Toadette stood there with eyes that screamed, "I'm sorry." Dimentio gave him a secret, devilish smile and a subtle wave goodbye.

"Ciao" he whispered loud enough for Mario alone to hear.

Mario struggled against the guards' tight grip, trying to break free. Some time passed as they proceeded to drag him through the mall. He all but stopped struggling by now, that is until they passed something important.

"Mush Mart!" he struggled madly again, "Oh come on, it's right there! Guys! Guys! You need to let me go! Just for a minute! Come on! I just need to buy something in there then you can throw me out! Promise!"

He managed to break free but didn't have enough time to run. The two guards positioned themselves as if they were ready to pounce and dared Mario to try to run. They stared him down as Mario contemplated his available options. He had none.

"Look guys! It's Santa!" he pointed and yelled.

They took the bait and Mario took off as they looked away.

* * *

><p>Still trying to get the scent of cologne off of him, he ended up in his all-time favorite store, as of five minutes ago, the Rooftop Coffee Shop. It was a room-sized shop that stood alone on the roof of the mall with its own private elevator leading up to it. It had a calming red color scheme and air filled with the smell of fresh coffee that soothed any patron that came from downstairs. There were others here enjoying the moment but no one rushed around or bothered anyone. Sitting at the counter, Mario was enjoying himself for the first time today even with the pressure of the task at hand still looming over his head. The warm taste of his vanilla mint coffee was doing a good job of keeping those thoughts at bay though.<p>

"Yes, I'll have the Woohoo Brew please. Thank you." said a man who sat down beside him.

Mario looked over to see it was Luigi, "Hey bro."

Luigi nearly fell out of his chair making Mario raise a brow.

"M-Mario?" he stammered, "Wha-What are you doing here?"

"We were out of toilet paper," he told him up front.

His bro seemed really nervous for some reason, even more so then usual.

"Oh." said Luigi.

"And bread." added Mario restlessly.

"Oh."

"Today bro, I have seen some stuff," he said gulping down some coffee, "Stuff I really wish I could un-see."

A man with a mug hat came to bring the younger brother his coffee.

Luigi took a sip and seemed to calm a little, "Yeah, today's been crazy for me too."

"No kidding? What have you been up to? You're not here for the toilet paper too are you? 'Cause that would be the worst thing to hear today if you had already bought some."

"Maybe not the worst thing." Luigi said under his breath but Mario heard him.

"What do you mean?"

Luigi almost choked, "Uh, well, you know, like... Okay what if, I was supposed to buy the toilet paper, and the bread! But I didn't."

"Okay...?"

"Yeah! And then, say I went to buy said toilet paper, but now you're all angry because you didn't have any for today."

"Sure. So, what's your point?"

"Yes, my point is, now that I've made you wait, how great does the toilet paper have to be for you to still really like it?" He practically shouted the last part and was now in his brother's face.

Mario backed away confused, "So, you didn't buy any toilet paper?"

Luigi sighed, "No but I'm really trying here."

Mario looked angry, "I spent all day trying to get..."

Luigi interrupted, "Mario, stop. It was a metaphor."

"Oh... You shouldn't lie you know."

Luigi's head hit the counter as the eldest continued, "You know, I don't even care anymore Weege. All I want for Christmas is that dang roll of toilet paper. I'd be happy with any roll at all by this point. Anything at all, just as long as I get that warm feeling when it's given to me, all wrapped up and new. That's all I want."

"Well that's a relief." Luigi muttered with his head still down, but suddenly he looked up, "Wait, wait that's it! I know what to buy now!"

"Toilet paper?"

"What? No, not that! Anyway you were supposed to buy that like a week ago. I've got to go now. Thanks bro!"

"Okay, your welcome, I guess."

With that, Luigi rushed off in a hurry.

"What's up with him today?" Mario asked himself.

He went to take another large gulp of his coffee but only got a sip before he finished it off. He stared into his empty mug for the longest minute. Then in one quick act, he slammed the mug down and stood up.

"Alright. Its game time!" he said with determination.

* * *

><p>The scene outside of Mush Mart was normal; no explosions, no brawls, and certainly no evil teddy bears. In the center of the main path were a few benches lined against a small garden with a small tree and a bush. Suddenly and inconspicuously, the head of Mario popped up from within the bush. He scanned the area while catchy spy music played in his head.<p>

"No sign of any guards or crazy fans." he concluded, "Nothing to distract me or stop me. I've just got to get in, buy the stuff, and get out."

He looked around the area again to make sure the coast was clear. Nothing. Shoppers walked casually back and forth along the main path with no complications. They walked into a store, bought what they want with complete ease, and then left. It made Mario sick.

"Okay Mario, it's now or never!" he motivated himself, "We can do this. Ready…"

"Now!" Mario leapt out of the bush and made a mad dash towards Mush Mart. He ran full force into the store and headed straight for the cash register.

"Bread and toilet paper!" he yelled at the young man behind the cash register.

"What?" he said.

Mario shook them, "Bread! And Toilet Paper!"

The man's head was spinning, "Um, aisle three, and five."

Without another word Mario ran off to those aisles. He found the bread and pushed a koopa out of the way to get it. Next he found the packs of toilet paper and grabbed the first one he could reach. He ran up and chucked both at the counter. The cash register man screamed and ducked as the items flew over his head and onto the floor. The man picked them up and put them in a plastic bag.

"Uh, that'll be 15 coins." he told Mario.

Mario smacked all 15 coins on the counter. He grabbed his bag and held it high in the air.

"Success!" he yelled.

* * *

><p>"I can finally go home," he thought to himself as he walked towards the front of the mall smiling. He made his way to the food court and was almost home free when he spotted something that made him freeze.<p>

"Daisy?" he began to walk over to her.

The floral princess was sitting alone at a food court table and looked completely upset. Her face was pale and her eyes were all red. She was trying to hide the fact that she had been crying; something you would rarely ever see the princess do. Seeing this told Mario that something was truly wrong.

"Daisy, what happened? Are you okay?" Mario asked as he approached her.

"Oh, hi Mario." she tried to smile like she was okay and gave a sniffle, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

Mario sat down beside her, "Daisy, you don't look fine. Tell me what's wrong."

She gave a look of defeat with a slight smile, and then finally she broke down into tears.

"I messed up Mario. I messed up big time." she managed to say through the tears.

A little while later Daisy hadn't moved. She couldn't get herself to leave and find a new store or even just go home. She just sat there, sobbing lightly ever so often and trying to hide it from those around her. She was staring down at the table when suddenly a figure walked up to her and said something.

"Daisy, what happened? Are you okay?"

She looked up to see that it was Mario. "Perfect." she thought sarcastically.

"Oh, hi Mario." she tried to smile like she was okay and gave a sniffle, "Yeah, I'm perfectly fine."

Mario sat down beside her, "Daisy, you don't look fine. Tell me what's wrong."

The floral princess could no longer take it. She felt tired and weak. All it took was Mario saying one thing for her to crack. She broke down into tears.

"I messed up Mario. I messed up big time." she managed to say through the tears.

Mario was taken aback then went in to comfort her, "Calm down Daisy. Don't cry. Whatever it is can't be that bad. Just tell me what you did."

She sniffled and stopped her tears. He could tell that she was unsure that she wanted to talk about it.

"Daisy, whatever it is, I can help." He reassured her.

"Okay. Well you know how my land has different customs for the holidays?" she started slow.

"Yeah."

"And you know how I've been super busy with Peach and this bug party she's been planning?"

"Yeah."

"And-And," her eyes watered, "You know how Luigi and I have been dating for a little while now?"

"Yeah, and what happened? He didn't dump you did he?" Mario asked, suddenly becoming angry at his bro.

"No."

"Then what. Just tell me already."

She took a deep breath, "I forgot to buy him a Christmas present!"

She fell on Mario's shoulder and began crying again. Mario was dumbstruck.

"Oh. Is that all?" he said.

She looked him in the eyes seriously, "Is that all?' Yes that's all! It's something really important and I totally neglected to do it!"

"It's just a present. He'll understand."

"That's the thing. I bumped into him in Shelves earlier. He was totally freaked out and upset. I did that!"

Mario paused. He remembered seeing his bro just a while back. He did seem really upset over something. He thought it best not to tell the emotionally unstable princess that though.

"Calm down. It's just a present, and you don't know that he was upset about you. For all you know he could be out today because he forgot to buy you a present!"

"No, it was definitely because of me. He wouldn't forget that sort of thing"

She laid her head down on the table and sobbed, "What am I going to do?"

Mario looked down at her and thought deeply. Is she just overreacting? Exactly how would Luigi react? Is there anything he could do to help?

"This means a lot to you, doesn't it?" he asked at last.

"Yeah." she said with her head still down, "It's the only custom our two kingdoms share. Back home, when you give a gift to someone, you don't just re-gift it or throw it away. It symbolizes a bond between people, and the better the gift, the stronger that bond. If I don't get Luigi anything, our bond will break."

"Then I know what you're gonna do." he said.

_So now you know the whole story_

_Written through this text,_

_But wouldn't you like to know now,_

_What happens next?_

_Each story crossed over_

_And was told side by side._

_Now see how it ends,_

_When stories collide._

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><p><em><em>Yes! Again, this story was started last year so I'm extremely excited that the main part of it is now completed. But wait, there's more! Yes, there is still an entire chapter yet to be seen involving all the characters fighting and then the royal Christmas party. Unfortunately, I'm out of time to write that and I won't have any time until after Christmas break. Sigh. But fear not, because you will get to see the ending as soon as I have more time to write it! For now review and check out the next "chapter" for a nice little surprise.


	6. Bonus Chapter

I just want to give a huge thank you to those who made it this far. I can't thank you enough for taking your time to read my story. I hope you've enjoyed it (so far) and just to give a little gift for the holidays, here is the master outline of Mushroom Mall Madness. Don't worry, no spoilers or anything. It was my original master list for the story and it shows where everyone was when. You know, to keep it straight. Enjoy.

* * *

><p><strong>Mushroom Mall Madness Master Outline<strong>

(Characters in order of chapter number)

Luigi – perfect gift for Mario

1. Bakery (Tayce T. Bakery)

2. Clothing Store (Fredericks)** Toadette**

3. Bookstore (Shelves) **Daisy**

4. Coffee Shop (Rooftop Coffee Shop)** Mario**

5. Electronics (Entertainment 30)

Toadsworth – list of party decorations/supplies

1. Dollar Store (Five Below) **Daisy**

2. Convenient Store (Mush Mart)** Mario**

3. Coffee Shop (Rooftop Coffee Shop)

4. Clothing Store (Fancy Fashions) **Toadette**

5. Bakery (Tayce T. Bakery)

Dasiy – perfect gift for Luigi

1. Dollar Store (Five Below) **Toadsworth**

2. Electronics (Entertainment 30)

3. Bookstore (Shelves)** Luigi**

4. Food Court

5. Convenient Store (Mush Mart) **Mario**

Toadette – herself

1. Food Court

2. Clothing Store (Fredericks) **Luigi**

3. Perfume Store **Mario**

4. Clothing Store (Fancy Fashions) **Toadsworth**

5. Bookstore (Shelves)

Mario – bread and toilet paper

1. Electronics (Entertainment 30)

2. Convenient Store (Mush Mart) **Toadsworth**

3. Perfume Store Dimentio **Toadette**

4. Coffee Shop (Rooftop Coffee Shop) **Luigi**

5. Convenient Store (Mush Mart) **Daisy**

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><p><span>Emily<span> (teddy bear girl)

1. Bakery (Tayce T. Bakery) **Luigi**

2. Convenient Store (Mush Mart) **Mario**

3. Perfume Store** Toadette**

4. Food Court **Daisy**

5. Bakery (Tayce T. Bakery) **Toadsworth**

* * *

><p>Look forward to the final chapter everyone. Happy Holidays and a very Merry Christmas!<p> 


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